Green Homes in India

Advice provided by: Yusuf Turab, LEED AP , Y T Enterprises

Continuing after part one of my three part series on Green Homes in India, here is the second part which intends to list out the top 10 priorities that the builder, designer and most importantly the home owner should be aware of.

This part is going to be split into a series of 10 articles, each one covering a particular green home priority. I am going to follow a ranking order listing out first, what I believe are the most important factors to be considered in greening a home and then gradually moving to lesser known but probably equally important factors. The order is my personal opinion based on the Indian context and solely takes new homes and major renovations into account. My ranking might have been slightly different if I was to consider existing homes or homes built in the coldest or driest parts of the country. I will be pleased to hear any disagreements but the bottom line is that all of the priorities I will cover are important in most situations–and there are lots of other greening strategies we should try to address, even if they don’t make it onto this list. So here goes:

Green Home Priority #1 – Reduce Water Use

Number 1 on my list of the top-10 green home priorities is to reduce water use. I expect some readers will be surprised at my choice of water and not energy being the top priority. Well, this would be fair in most countries but not in India. Water is a rapidly renewable resource in the sense that we get two major monsoons in a year but one must also remember that the quantity of water is finite and is not going to increase year after year. Energy production on the other hand can be increased as per requirement from conventional or renewable resources.

Not inferring that energy is any less of a priority, but we know that an energy crisis can be managed with human intervention; on the other hand, we are at nature’s mercy for water. But in many ways, water resource issues are an even bigger problem in parts of the country that aren’t as used to thinking about water. Take Charrapunji for example where even an annual rainfall of 11,777 mm does not seem to be enough to provide a secure water supply.

Water use in India

For those who didn’t already know here is the Indian scenario: Not a single town, village or city in India has a 24*7 water supply, not a single water board charges its consumers the amount it costs the government to convey the water from far of catchment areas to their homes, not many people know the true cost of getting a kilo-litre of water to flow from the catchment area to the taps in their homes and many people seem to believe it is gravity that brings water to their doorstep. The haves with a proper municipal supply cannot care enough for water and the have nots do not get much water. The very concept of central municipal water supply has no business model and hence like many other government services, is not sustainable.

Bangalore Water Supply

Let’s take Bangalore as an example: Bangalore is situated at an elevation of 3,020 ft above sea level but all its water comes from sources that are well below this elevation. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board is currently drawing water from two rivers namely, Cauvery (80% of the city supply) and Arkavathy (20% of the city supply). Water from these two rivers is stored in huge reservoirs constructed near the rivers. From the reservoirs, water is then let into treatment plants for purification, then the water is pumped in large pipelines to the smaller reservoirs in the city through a series of pumping stations and within the city, water is supplied to households and other establishments by further pumping through a network of smaller pipes. Hence every drop of municipal water that a Bangalorean consumes or wastes has been pumped using large amounts of energy. The exact energy consumption figures are not known but one can only imagine the cost of pumping 945 million litres of water per day to heights of 3000 ft. The scenario in other cities is either alarming (Cost of water supply in Chennai is even higher) or only slightly better.

And it gets worse: Because of the laws nature, everything that goes in has to come out in some form or the other. This is what we call sewage, which is an even bigger problem than the water supply itself. The more water we consume the more sewage we generate. The more sewage we generate the more energy intensive treatment facilities we require. Not a single city in our country treats even close 75% of its sewage. Broken pipes, unregulated colonies, slums and industrial effluent only compound our problems. In most cities sewerage systems are incomplete or non existent in some parts. Hence sewage is either simply let into the storm water drains (meant to carry only rain water) or lakes, making this water unfit for human consumption.

The Importance of Water Efficiency in India

The bottom line is: Water use reduction is such an important factor in construction of Green Homes (and other buildings for that matter) mainly because water is energy-intensive. Pumping water out of the ground or catchment, moving it from one place to another, treating it, and then treating the waste-water after we use it accounts for about 3% – 6% of India’s electricity. Water is also such a high priority because so much else depends on it. Most of our power plants draw water from rivers and lakes for cooling, and during severe droughts power plants have to shut down. Unlike the more developed countries our food system is highly dependent on irrigation. We drink and wash with water. And it takes a lot of water to generate electricity: on average 15 – 20 litres per kilowatt-hour in India.

10 Ways to Reduce Water Consumption

There are lots of good ways to reduce water use. A few of my favorites are listed here:

1. - Replace old shower-heads with new ones that do not dispel more than 8.4 litres per minute.
2. - Replace old toilets with latest dual flush systems that do not dispel more than 4.2 litres per full flush and 2.1 litres for half flush.
3. - Reduce the water consumption of bathroom faucets by installing aerators that increase air supply and restrict water supply to about 8.4 litres per minute.
4. - Install waterless urinals. Yes they work and no there is absolutely no odor. If there was, nobody would buy them and hence nobody would make them.
5. - Install pumping management system to ensure there is no overflow from the overhead tanks.
6. - Buy a water-saving washing machine. Horizontal-axis, front-loading machines use significantly less water than most vertical-axis top-loaders.
7. - Buy a water-conserving dishwasher or don’t buy one at all.
8. - Plant low-water-use landscaping. Grass is getting too common anyway.
9. - Harvest rainwater for irrigating and other outdoor uses. With sufficient filtration and purification rainwater can be used for drinking purposes as well.
10. - Treat at least the grey water to reuse for irrigation.

These suggestions are just a starting point; there are lots of other opportunities for savings. Huge savings can also be achieved simply by changing your behavior: taking shorter showers, and not running the water when washing dishes or brushing your teeth, and skipping car-washing, for example. To a significant extent, water savings is about common sense.

The larger unrelated issue: Rain is decentralized. So is the demand for water. Why can’t we decentralize the supply? In my opinion the entire system of water supply from a centralized location and also treating the resultant sewage in a central location is fundamentally flawed does not make any sense. Well, not in a big country like India with a big population and with even bigger problems. How is it practically possible for even the most efficient government machinery to supply water to 1.3 billion people and also take away all the waste they generate for little or no fee and treat it? How many STPs are we going to build, where is the water going to come from and more importantly where is the energy to do all the above? Even if we manage to treat most of the waste water in centralized sewage treatment plants there is no means to convey the reusable water back into our cities without creating more infrastructure that requires even more energy.

These traditional ideas of what a government is supposed to do for its people and what people should expect from a government needs to change. The government’s job is to act as a facilitator and not as a provider. The governments job is to encourage, support and provide technology/incentives for water conservation, water harvesting and decentralized waste water treatment systems within sites. Since rain is only seasonal the government should supply water at higher costs when people need it and for those who want to continue using the sewage systems they should be willing to pay for the quantity of waste they send out. These are larger political issues which need to be debated in the appropriate forum. But in the medium term we will continue to see political parties promising people more water hence more dams, more free sewage treatment hence more STPs, better waste collection hence larger dump yards and more electricity and hence more power plants; there is no end to it. I hope common sense prevails and some day people realize that the more we build the more we lose: Why build when there is nothing to gain? Read here also about Green Home in Florida

Looking to make your home a little greener? Look no further than a few average items to add to your shopping list! Here are our top must-buys for keeping your green home, and how to use them.

Baking Soda

We love baking soda, and not just to make some awesome banana bread, or to use as a deodorant or toothpaste. To use as a great bathroom cleaner, mix one cup with a teaspoon of liquid soap, and a bit of water. Make a paste, and add essential oils if you want it to smell pretty, too.

Milk

Milk isn’t just for drinking. Mix it with white vinegar, then let any clothing that has been exposed to an ink stain sit in a bowl on the mixture. Let it soak, then wash as per normal. The ink stain will be gone!

Club Soda

This fizzy liquid isn’t just for drinking either. It is also effective in removing stains. Like a bubbling detergent, the same effect in club soda lifts stains from mugs, clothing, and silver.

Glass Bottles

Purchase a few glass bottles to house bulk items such as liquid soap and other cleaners. It will also look more attractive than a large plastic bottle on top of your counter.

Fresh Vegetables

We’ve talked about how a vegetarian diet can help the environment, and lessen the effects of global warming. Meat and dairy cause more carbon emissions than our cars do, so reducing them in our diet is a step forward for our planet.

Lemons

Use its juice for dissolving soap scum and hard water deposits, to clean and shine brass and copper and as a natural bleach. You can also cut a lemon in half, sprinkle baking soda and use it as a scrub for dishes.

Bamboo Washcloths

Wash cloths made from bamboo give you the softest possible way to pamper your skin. They have a natural high absorbency factor (up to 400% more than cotton), as well as natural antibacterial properties to make them non-irritating and hypoallergenic.

Olive Oil

Need a quick furniture polish? Use amixture of 1 cup olive oil with 1/2 cup lemon juice. Done and done.

Eco-Friendly Light Bulbs

An obvious solution, these bulbs use a third of the energy than incandescent versions, which help the environment and your wallet, too.

Compost Pail

Purchase a small, airtight container to keep in your kitchen so you can compost with ease. It will reduce waste and help your garden, too. For more tips, read My Green Home in Florida

Green home savings

by Sandra Parker

VIRGINIA BEACH — At Homearama in Virginia Beach, there are a lot of beautiful green homes.  But if you look past all the beautiful decor, you’re likely to see something that is even more attractive to most homeowners – cost saving technology.

Builder Jeff Ainslie has several items in his home “The Rockwell” including a super low-flow toilet that has two flushing options.  According to Ainslie, “a normal toilet uses about three gallons per flush.  A low-flow toilet uses about 1.6.  But this toilet uses about 1.2 on a large flush and about three-quarters of a gallon on a smaller flush.”

He says the toilet also reduces the impact on the environment because you have less waste water to treat.  And when it comes to a water heater, Ainslie researched the tankless water heater and found it to be a big cost saver.  He says it will “heat water instantly when you need the water versus keeping a water tank heated 24/7 when you typically only use water three or four hours a day.”

The attic is another place you’ll find savings.  What may look like a labyrinth of duct work according to Ainslie is a great way to keep air flowing throughout the house and keep too much cash from flowing out of your pockets.

“If we built this house ten years ago to code, heating and cooling costs would be about $120 to $130 dollars a month,” said Ainslie.  “And your efficiency of your HVAC equipment would only be about two-thirds of what it is today.”

He says today with all the ”green technology” in place, heating and cooling this 4080 square foot house  will cost between $35 and $40 a month.”

Before you rush out and purchase things that claim to be the latest and greatest green technology for you home, Ainslie suggests you do your homework first and ask some questions like “Is it really going to be a benefit to them or is it just going to be a buzz word that doesn’t provide a return on investment?”

Something else to consider when going green in Virginia Beach – the city has a program that if your house meets certain green home criteria, it will lower the tax rate on the home. Ainslie says for his home at Homearama that would be a savings of $75 a month.

Green Homes coming to San Diego

By Lily Leung

Kaufmann designs modular homes that are built on factory lines, a process she says cuts the construction time in half. Her methods and ideas earned her the nickname “Henry Ford of green homes,” by the Sierra Club.

Her work has been on display at several U.S. institutions. Workers built a full-sized copy of her own modular home, the Glidehouse, at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., and her three-floor Smart Home: Green+Wired exhibit is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. She’s completed 54 homes across the country, from the Bay Area to Washington state. The Glidehouse model’s pricing starts at $360,000 but Kaufmann also does luxury homes.

The innovator, who will be in town noon Wednesday at the California Center for Sustainable Energy in Kearney Mesa, talked via phone with the Union-Tribune for this week’s Friday on Friday housing profile.

Q: You emphasize simplicity in the creation of sustainable homes and communities. Why?

A: The notion of simplicity resonates with all of us. The more we pack into our lives, the more we feel like we’ve spun out of control. When we acquire more stuff, we feel a physical weight that translates to an emotional weight. Simplicity is in our environment, not only where we live, but all around us. The question is not if people want to go green, it’s how because families want to be be healthier in the way they live. But it can’t cost anymore than they’re living now. And it needs to be easy.

Q: Well, that’s the hard part, right? Living green tends to cost more, so how can you be sustainable and still keep a decent budget?

A: Right. If green is affordable to only a few elite people, you’re not going to move the dial. It needs to be accessible. So we need to rethink about how we talk about cost. When people are thinking about buying a home, they think about the cost in terms of the monthly mortgage, the monthly bills. We need to think about energy and water savings in the same way. We can say, ‘In the first month, the family with these green features paid this much less over time.’ That’s a really powerful way that can start shifting toward better decisions. When we look at homes, the information of its green qualities needs to be more clear and transparent, maybe having something like a nutrition label.

Q: How can being green save you time?

A: Building a green home should not take more time than building one that is not green. So I looked at alternative construction methods. I used modular construction that could be built in a factory, uses control precision cutting that uses less waste, and reduces the time frame (of construction  by half.

Q: Why is a home built in a factory better?

A: The alternative construction method is super fascinating. You build homes better, for less. Homes built in a factory also are stronger and healthier. We use innovation in all parts of our lives but we don’t see much of it in homebuilding, which is the same way it’s always been done, which is wasteful. But we can do things differently, which is why this is a very exciting time.

Q: What prompted you to want to build a better, cheaper, more attractive green home?

A: When my husband and I looked for a place to live, we couldn’t find anything we liked and that we could afford. So we decided to build something ourselves. This was back in 2003, before green was very popular. We wanted lower energy bills, lower water bills and a home that felt big and healthy. In our old place, I was waking up with migraines because we happened to have mold in the walls. So we designed and built the house, and our friends were wondering if we could mass produce this? And after doing some research, I found out yes, we can. (That’s how the Glidehouse model was born.)

Glidehouse model by Michelle Kaufmann

The Glidehouse was inspired by architect Michelle Kaufmann’s own green home. Her idea is to create simple, sustainable homes in a factory to cut down on time and building materials. The Glidehouse model is available in two to four bedrooms, two to three baths and can vary between 1,632 to 2,244 square feet. The starting price is $360,000.

Read here about affordable Green Home in Florida

Green Home

By Jill Reitz

Native coneflowers create colorful backdrops in home gardens.

Native vegetation has other benefits too: It tends to do well with little encouragement and in difficult soils.

You have lots of options. Kansas and Missouri have multiple species of native coneflowers. Any should work well if planted in full sun or areas that get a half day of strong sunlight in regular to dry soil, says Ken O’Dell, a member of the Kansas Native Plant society. Never plant in soil that is too wet, he says.

They’re a great choice for sunny backyards, especially if planted with other summer blooming native plants, O’Dell says.

To complement them, try prairie blazing star, wild petunia or prairie sage, among others.

The 2011 Kansas Native Plant Society wildflower of the year is the Ratibida columnifera, or yellow prairie coneflower. It has a long, conical head and flowers most of the summer. O’Dell recommends planting them from an already potted plant so the seed doesn’t get covered by leaves or mulch. He doesn’t cut the heads off his coneflowers until March or April.

“It is very pretty with snow on one side of the flower head,” he says regarding the off-season. “And it is one of the best foods for bluebirds in the winter before they leave our area. Read also about  Green Home in Florida